


Confidentiality Agreement

by find_nowhere



Category: Nashville (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 18:39:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1236874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/find_nowhere/pseuds/find_nowhere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily is one of the few people in Juliette's life that actually seems to care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confidentiality Agreement

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the end of episode 2.11 and before Jeff verbally abuses Juliette in her own home in episode 2.12.

Emily stood with her back pressed close against the wall. She closed her eyes and held her breath. A huge lump formed in her throat. She wanted to swallow, but she was afraid it would make a freakish gulping noise and blow her cover. She'd let herself into Juliette Barnes' house and then didn't know what to do once she'd arrived. Juliette was pretty much a bitch, and her assistant wouldn't hesitate to say so if ever prompted. She leaned her head back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling of the dark hallway, wondering why she thought this was a good idea.

The only sound in the house was the droning television. Juliette was sitting in the dark, staring at it, watching protesters burning her albums, watching her own face melt over and over. Layla's statement hadn't helped at all and that was why Emily had come over. She should have called first, but Juliette would have told her not to come. She couldn't bear to think of the girl sitting alone in her big house though.

She took a slow, deep breath and peeked around the corner. She saw the back of Juliette's head. She was staring at the television and methodically drinking from a glass. Emily's own breath hitched and she crossed the room at the most leisurely pace she could manage. She cleared her throat.

Juliette jumped and spun around, startled. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw that it was Emily and then she raised her hand and flicked her wrist, trying to shoo her away. Emily ignored the motion and knelt down next to the arm of the couch that Juliette was curled up against.

"So I guess you've watched the news?" Juliette held onto her glass with both hands and she stared forward. Her voice was surprisingly apathetic.

"Yeah. You ok?" Emily knew it was a stupid question, but she asked anyway.

"Fine."

Emily swallowed forcefully, "Can I...do anything? I thought you might like some company or something."

Raising an eyebrow, Juliette answered, "You can do whatever you want. You're off work right now...at least you should be. I'm not paying you for showin' up here when I didn't want you here though."

"No, I-"

"Just go home, Emily. You work for me, so you have to do what I say," the singer snapped at her.

With a sigh, Emily stood up. She didn't leave hurriedly and took a chance placing her hand on Juliette's shoulder. As expected, the blonde shook it off and continued staring blankly to the front. Emily started toward the kitchen. She pulled down a tumbler from the cabinet and found a bottle of vodka already sitting on the counter - presumably what Juliette was drinking. She filled the glass with ice and straight vodka.

Juliette still hadn't moved when she returned. Her lips were pressed together tightly, almost to the point of vanishing. Her eyes were red, but she wasn't crying at that second. She looked more enraged than anything else.

Emily started, "We don't have to talk-"

"Good." Juliette cut her off and took a long drink from her glass.

"Well, let me know when you need another drink or if you want something else...or whatever," she took a seat at the opposite end of the couch. She kicked off her heels and put her feet up. "Turn this crap off."

Juliette ignored her, but asked, "What are you doin' here anyway?"

"I'm your friend."

"You're my assistant," she argued.

"I'm your friend," Emily said again.

Juliette scoffed.

"Change the channel or turn the television off. We can sit here and not talk or you can talk. You can cry. I don't care, but stop watching this. If I could make all of this stop, I would, but it doesn't do you a bit of good to sit and stare at it like this."

"Even if I didn't pay you?" Juliette glared forward and still didn't turn off the television.

"I told you, I'm your friend. Sometimes you're a pain in the ass, but I think you're actually ok once you peel away all of your bitchiness."

"I guess that's better than nothin'..." she muttered into her drink.

Emily groaned and moved closer to her on the couch so that she could reach across her for the remote. Juliette didn't fight her and let her turn off the TV. Without the TV on, they were both engulfed in darkness and quiet. The huge windows behind them let ambient light bleed in from outside, casting Juliette in a ghostly glow. Emily looked at her in the shadows as they sat and drank their drinks.

Emily clinked the ice around in her glass and she wanted to do something, anything to make Juliette feel better. The little, blonde singer looked smaller than usual and utterly miserable. Juliette spent all day being pissed off, but at the end of the day she was really just sad. Very few people saw this side of her. Emily did and sometimes Glenn. Emily watched all of her self-destruction and maybe that was what kept her around, despite Juliette's fairly poor treatment of her. There were moments when she seemed remarkably human. This was one of those moments. Juliette Barnes was just sad girl sitting on a couch. She needed a friend.

Juliette turned toward her, propped her elbow on the back of the couch then cradled her chin in her hand. She said with a noisy sigh, "This sucks."

"It'll pass," Emily said and reached out to stroke her cheek with her thumb.

Juliette smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah and then I'll do something else stupid."

With a shrug, Emily said, "Then that'll blow over too. Forget about it."

...

After finishing a couple drinks the two were laughing and Juliette no longer looked on the verge of tears. Emily's eyes were watering from excessive laughter and she wiped them with the back of her wrist before drinking the last dregs of melted ice in her glass. Their laughter died down and Emily couldn't remember what they'd even been laughing around. Juliette was facing her with one arm draped over the back of the couch. She looked happy, or content at least, and it made Emily smile. This was another pleasant side of Juliette Barnes in which she seemed human.

Juliette pursed her lips thoughtfully and then moved her other hand to Emily's cheek.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, but couldn't bring herself to pull away or put up any sort of fight.

"I don't know..." Juliette responded softly and unsurely before closing the gap between their faces.

Emily managed to turn her head, so that her lips only contact her cheek. "Whoa. Wait."

"I-I-I..." Juliette stammered and looked confused. Her eyes narrowed and she hissed, "You work for me, remember?"

Emily elbowed her away and began speaking quickly, "Stop. You don't need to do this. You don't need to make these advances on the first guy...err-well, person...you run into after a bad day. You're better than that and I'm so tired of watching you do it. It's like your self-worth is all tangled up in sex and-"

Juliette's face contorted to one of rage, "Don't you tell me-"

Emily silenced her by covering her mouth with her own. She didn't know what else to do and it seemed like a fine idea. Her lips tasted only of the vodka they'd been drinking and she soon completely lost her train of thought. She sat her glass down and moved closer to Juliette, placing her hand on her hip. Juliette's tongue pressed lightly against her lips. She opened her mouth and welcomed it. Emily slipped her other hand around to the back of Juliette's neck and her fingers tangled in her hair. She deepened the kiss with her heart pounding in her chest. She could hear it thumping in her ears. She didn't know what she was doing. The hand on Juliette's hip slipped seamlessly beneath the hem of her shirt and moved to her waist. Her skin was soft under her fingertips.

Juliette broke the kiss with a sudden gasp. Her eyes were watery again and all of the rage vanished without a trace. She wrapped her arms around Emily and pressed her forehead into her shoulder. She grabbed desperately at the back of Emily's blouse. Her voice cracked when she muttered, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Emily whispered in her ear and hugged her closely. "Please don't give me a raise or anything. I'm a personal assistant, not a prostitute."

She laughed faintly. "I'm sorry for cryin'. It isn't because you're a bad kisser or anything."

"Thanks for clarifying." She lightly kissed the curve of Juliette's neck. It was right there, asking to be kissed.

She laughed again and sniffled, "You can stop. I...I'm not into girls. I..."

"I won't tell the tabloids," Emily said before catching Juliette's earlobe in her teeth. "It would be a great article though...your one-night stand with your assistant."

Juliette moaned involuntarily and laughed again, more sincerely. She pulled away, but the two still sat close together. Her hands were resting on Emily's thighs. "I'm tryin' really hard not to do stupid things and I think this might be a stupid thing."

"Ok," Emily smiled and picked up her drink. "I could sue you for sexual harassment, say you threatened to fire me-"

"What? But I didn't..." Juliette frowned and looked like she would cry again.

"That was a joke. I'm sorry. It was a bad joke. This stays between us, I promise." She reached out and moved Juliette's hair behind her ear. She let her hand linger on her neck. "I'm so tired of seeing you get hurt. I really am."

"Because you're my friend?"

She nodded.

Juliette seemed pleased. "The problem is, with all these people and all these messes I keep gettin' myself in..." She sighed, "I think I like all these people until I realize I don't or until they screw me over, you know?"

"What about Avery?"

Juliette let out a genuine laugh and wiped her eyes quickly, "How did we just go from makin' out to talkin' about boys? Is this what friends do?"

Emily laughed as well, "I don't know. I don't have many friends either. All I do is work."

She pouted and realized her hands were still on Emily's legs. She pulled them into her lap and looked at them. "The way you kissed me...it was like you actually wanted to."

"Maybe I did."

Juliette looked up again, slowly. "Sometimes I really can't tell when you're jokin'..."

"I wasn't joking," Emily said very quietly, barely audible. She wasn't quite sure if it was the truth or not. It was like all of the vodka hit her at once. She wasn't really a liquor-drinker.

"Emily?" Juliette prompted after several long seconds of quiet between them.

"I've had too much to drink," she admitted very quickly.

"You wanna stay here tonight? You can have the mornin' off."

"Well, I don't think I should leave." She laughed and sank back into the couch. "This is a little embarrassing."

"I had so much more to drink than you. I must have my momma's liver," Juliette laughed too and leaned over her, curiously. She worried at her bottom lip for a moment before asking, "You're not married are you?"

"No. Why?"

Leaning down, Juliette kissed her again. Emily smiled into the kiss and let out a throaty laugh before her hands wandered up to Juliette's sides. She pulled Juliette onto her lap and began to dot her neck with kisses. Juliette did the same and began to roughly suck on the tender patch of skin where Emily's neck and shoulder connected.

"You don't have to do this," Emily mumbled between kisses, her hands on Juliette's back beneath her shirt.

"It's just one night and we're not telling anybody, so..." She took Emily's ear in her mouth and ran her tongue around her earring. "If you wanna stop, just tell me. I won't fire you."

"No..." Emily gasped and arched her body into Juliette's as the younger girl began to nibble on her neck. "You don't think this is stupid?"

"It might be, but..." Juliette paused and seemed to think carefully about her words. "You seem to be enjoying it, and..." She touched her forehead to Emily's, "I guess I'm enjoying what I'm doing...to you. Does that make sense?"

"Sure. One night. We never tell anyone."

"We never even mention this again."

Emily nodded, "Definitely a secret."

...

Juliette had been in her pajamas. She laughed loudly and sat up when Emily's hands moved around to her chest. She felt the woman's thumbs on the underside of her breasts. She was straddling Emily on the couch, her legs on either side of her hips and she wasn't sure why she'd laughed. Emily looked baffled, but she smiled.

"You're way less hairy than a guy," Juliette observed.

"You smell nicer."

Juliette hesitated briefly then reached down and unbuttoned the top button of Emily's blouse. "Do you always dress for work? Even when you show up uninvited to my house during the night?"

She shook her head, "No, I just didn't get undressed."

Juliette moved down to the second button and then the third, exposing Emily's bra. "You're not gonna act weird after this, are you?"

"No weirder than usual. You're not going to act weird either, right?"

Accepting the answer, Juliette carried on unbuttoning Emily's shirt and shook her head. When she ran out of buttons, she spread it open and ran one of her hands over her abs. She bent down and kissed her collar bone then began moving lower. Emily lay there, trying not to think too deeply about what was happening. She felt a little like it wasn't happening. There was a little voice in the back of her mind telling her this was a horrible idea. Juliette made horrible decisions, not Emily. The voice quieted when Juliette unclasped her pants.

"Juliette," Emily said and propped herself up on her elbows. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"No idea whatsoever." She looked up. "You?"

"I..." she started. "No."

"Good," she said and yanked down her pants, revealing her tight, black panties. She peeled off her pants and then dragged her nails up the outside of her thighs. She graced her hips with her thumbs and moved her palms down the inside of her thighs. She stopped there and crawled back on top of Emily to kiss her again.

Emily moaned and her back arched. She moved her hands from Juliette's back to her thighs and then around to her ass. The girl's pajama pants were thin and she'd foregone underwear entirely. She felt the backs of her legs as their tongues swirled together. She raised one of her knees up between Juliette's legs and caused her to falter in their kiss. Juliette was startlingly wet and all at once, Emily writhed out from under her enough to let her blouse fall from her shoulders. Juliette reached out for her and they both found themselves fumbling for the clasp of Emily's bra.

Juliette found the clasp first with her arms wrapped around Emily and their bodies pressed close together. She let out a victorious chuckle while it came undone and Emily started to jerk her t-shirt off over her head. They shed their garments and Emily became more the aggressor. She edged Juliette down onto her back and then covered one of her nipples with her mouth. When she started to use her teeth, she felt Juliette's nails begin pawing at her back. She slipped her hand down between her thighs, feeling how warm and wet she'd become. When she pressed her hand against her folds, even with the barrier of her pants there, Juliette's breathing became hitched.

"Jesus, Emily," Juliette managed to mutter before Emily began to kiss her again. Juliette's hands dropped and she began desperately trying to get her pants off. Each of their movements and actions became somehow urgent like if things didn't happen quickly one of them would change their mind.

Wasting no time, Emily inserted her first two fingers into Juliette. She moved them in and out slowly, dropping her mouth to Juliette's neck. Juliette bit viciously into her shoulder as she began to move her hips in rhythm with her hand. Emily's other arm was hooked tightly around her, making sure their bodies remained close. She could feel Juliette's small, hard nipples and each of her irregular breaths with each motion.

Juliette, without warning, began trembling beneath her. Her hips buckled and she arched her head back. Emily kissed her neck as she came. Juliette guided her lips back to hers and kissed her deeply, but erratically. She bit Emily's bottom lip between gasps until she seemed to regain control of her body.

Emily sat up and felt like she should say something. She didn't know what to say and anything she did say, she was sure would come out sounding really stupid. Juliette lay naked and breathing heavily, being swallowed by the overstuffed sofa. Her eyes were slits as she looked up at the other woman. She again worried at her bottom lip and looked thoughtful. Emily's own lips were sore as was her shoulder and her back. Her heart felt like it was in her throat and she turned and sat properly on the couch as soon as Juliette sat up. The voice in her head had gone completely quiet.

She looked absently at the powered off television. She barely noticed when Juliette dropped down to her knees on the floor and curled her fingers around her panties. The blonde pulled them down slowly and Emily swallowed hard, nervously, but with anticipation. Juliette didn't say a word as she tossed the undergarment aside. She positioned herself between Emily's legs and urged her hips forward. Juliette began by lightly kissing the inside of her thigh. She was delicately running her nails down the outer parts of her legs as her kisses moved higher.

Emily moved closer to the edge of the couch and braced herself. Juliette had paused. She quickly said, "Don't stop. Please."

Juliette laughed a little as Emily moved her hand into her hair. She let Emily guide her mouth to her clit. Emily took in a sharp breath as Juliette's tongue pressed into her. She moved her tongue hard and began to suck her clit. Emily shuttered and opened her legs farther. Juliette slid a finger easily inside of her while working her clit with her tongue and lips at the same time. She curled her finger and pressed her tongue toward it, making Emily come hard and fast. Juliette continued to lightly kiss her until she felt the wave of ecstasy had ended.

Looking exceptionally smug, Juliette made her way back onto the couch next to Emily. Emily's felt a chill travel up her spine as Juliette slipped one of her arms behind her and then lay her head on her shoulder. Leaning her head over, Emily kissed her forehead.

After a few moments of silence, Juliette asked, "Was that ok?"

Emily's voice came out hoarse, but she answered, "Yeah. It was ok."

"I wouldn't be opposed to doing ok stuff with you all night." Juliette began drawing lazy circles on Emily's stomach with one finger.

"That would be ok too."

...

Bright light poured in and woke Emily up. She squinted and found herself naked and feeling dehydrated on Juliette's couch. After a few seconds she also realized that Juliette's arm was wrapped tightly around her waist and they were covered by a big quilt. She blinked a few times and gently pried Juliette off of her, swinging her legs over the side of the couch. She rubbed her neck and saw that her clothes were strewn about everywhere.

"I gave you the morning off," the blonde mumbled. "Come back."

Emily looked around and said, "I think it's already almost the afternoon."

"Oh. I guess I should get up then."

"Yeah," she said and stood. She began picking up her clothes and putting them on. She didn't look back at Juliette. "I'm going to run home, shower and get all of my work stuff then come back. I need to call all of those venues today."

"Alright. I'll be here." She still sounded sleepy.

Emily cringed when she picked up her wrinkled blouse and put it on. She finally turned and saw that Juliette curled up on the couch with the blanket pulled up to her neck. "Hey, don't turn on the TV and start watching that crap news again."

"Don't tell me what to do," she snapped at her in her normal, abrasive tone.

Emily smiled as she buttoned her shirt.

"Don't tell anyone," Juliette reminded her on her way out.

"Don't tell anyone what?" Emily called back over her shoulder, trying to sound as confused as possible, but she couldn't hide the smirk that graced her lips.

"Stop and get me a latte on your way back too!" yelled Juliette just before she got to the front door.


End file.
